I realized something about pistol sights today

[M2CattleCo]

This may be common knowledge for some, and may not apply to others at all, but it's something that I just realized today and if anyone else is in the same situation, it may save them some time.

For the longest time I was a black on black sights shooter. I liked my POI to be at the tip of the blade at 25.

Last year my accuracy was degrading and I was having trouble maintaining a hard focus on the front sight, so I switched to a fiber optic front at the same time I switched to a Glock. I got the sights dialed in to print where I want 'em to, but was having a helluva time shooting the guns. I thought it was the guns.

My Gen5 19 was shooting just a touch high at 25, so last night I swapped the .235" for a .250".

I went to the range to verify POI today and the difference in accuracy was dramatic. Nothing about the sights or pistol changed, just a .015" on the front and a different hold and I shot some of the best 10 round groups I've shot at 25 yards in a looong time!

Drive the dot works for me with a fiber optic front, tip of the blade, or a 6:00 with anything but a solid black does not.

YMMV

[PD Sgt.]

Reminds me of something I heard in a class once (may have been Pannone) that with fiber optic sights (maybe others as well but we were discussing fibers) there is a tendency, particularly at speed, to line up the top of the fiber with the top of the notch, causing one to hit high. The dot draws the eye, and makes it harder to line up the top of the sight with the top of the rear, instead one naturally lines up the dot as it is too hard to split focus between the top of the sight and the fiber, and the dot is the dominant feature.

It may not be the case for you here, since I assume at 25 you were shooting a little more focused/slow. Your post just reminded me of this, and I have noticed myself doing it at times, particularly on shorter to medium range drills with a quicker tempo such as the Test.

[M2CattleCo]

I know that under induced stress I tend to shoot high. Not sure why, but I have to really make an ugly face and push the muzzle down to get better hits under stress.

My rears are 10-8 U notch and I don't seem to have any trouble with dropping the ball in the bucket.

[spinmove_]

I know that under induced stress I tend to shoot high. Not sure why, but I have to really make an ugly face and push the muzzle down to get better hits under stress.

My rears are 10-8 U notch and I don't seem to have any trouble with dropping the ball in the bucket.

Fiber front? Other kind of front with either painted tritium or a painted dot? You might be aligning the top of the thing you can see best with the top edge of the rear sight instead of the top edge of the front sight itself. That’s kinda common if you’re shooting for speed or under a time crunch. Best thing to do is be mindful of it and make your point of aim a touch lower in those situations to compensate.


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[Wayne Dobbs]

Very common to see high shots with colorful front sights as we want to see more of the pretty stuff at speed.

[Clusterfrack]

I have to watch out for low shots in poor light. Because the top of the rear sight is blurrier, I find it’s easier to accept a low alignment of the front sight.

[45dotACP]

For some reason, a square notch rear really helps me prevent the vertical stringing problem. Well that or just a rear sight with a straight, flat top. The Warrens that I typically run seem to be less conducive to accuracy at range.

The reason why I'm shooting a Springer RO much better at distance than my 1911 with Warren rears.

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[rdtompki]

Lighting conditions and age/eyesight are huge factors. Wife and I have both gone through the same sight configurations with our 1911s used in SC competition.


Stock Iron Sights - rear blade notch too narrow for shooting at speed
FO front sight - ok, but depending on lighting the FO focus can interfere with vertical sight alignment
FO front/rear - worked well under good lighting, but in shady conditions fiber brightness can vary a good deal
White dots front/rear - we've settled on this since the dot brightness tends to be uniform front/rear under all lighting conditions



Not sure this is all that relevant to controlled fire at a range, but it's what we've found during rapid target transitions.

[SAWBONES]

Older eyes. *sigh*

Wider front for me, too

(AND a wider rear notch).

[JohnO]

Reminds me of something I heard in a class once (may have been Pannone)

Mike is a master at explaining the all the fine details & nuances.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzSHXemDSm0